Articles Tagged With: FHA Loan News

July 28, 2015

FHA and HUD Recognize A Year Of Opportunity

The FHA and HUD are reminding borrowers about an important change made to the FHA single family home loan program in conjunction with a new HUD press release titled, “A Year of Progress: Delivering on the Promise of Opportunity”. The Department of Housing and Urban Development is approaching its fifth decade of service. The press release states, “As HUD approaches its 50th anniversary, Secretary Castro is laser focused on advancing policies that provide folks with access to quality housing, good schools, transportation and economic opportunity. We recognize housing as a platform for Americans who are striving to improve their lives and break the cycle of poverty for the next generation. As needs for our services have increased, HUD will continue to invest in initiatives that have demonstrated outcomes in helping | more...

July 21, 2015

Self-Employed, Contractor, Or Employee? It Matters When You Apply For An FHA Loan

By Joe Wallace

A recent article posted at CNN Money raises some interesting FHA loan questions regarding the difference between workers who act as independent contractors and those who work as employees. FHA loan rules require more job and income related information from FHA loan applicants who are self-employed or who work as part of a family business. These borrowers may need additional tax data and may need to submit profit and loss statements and related details that can help a lender verify the applicant’s income and employment. According to the CNN Money article titled, “When an independent contractor is really an employee”, there’s a large number of recent lawsuits that, “allege companies should not be classifying workers as free agents. For example, last month a California commission ruled that an Uber driver | more...

July 15, 2015

FHA Mortgage Loan Interest Rate Trends: Slightly Lower After Fed Testimony

By Joe Wallace

On Wednesday, mortgage loan rates improved slightly after semi-annual testimony by the Fed Chair was delivered to Congress. Rates didn’t improve all that much, but with 30-year fixed rate conventional mortgage loans, we’re seeing reports of more lenders offering best execution rates closer to the bottom of the four percent range than yesterday. FHA mortgage loan rates seem to have found a comfort zone, with best execution rates between 3.75% and 4.0% reported for many days now. Remember, your experience may vary–best execution rates are offered to borrowers with ideal credit scenarios. The rates you see reported here are not available to all borrowers or from all lenders. The availability of a participating FHA lender offering these rates or something similar may also be a factor FHA mortgage loan rates | more...

July 15, 2015

FHA Home Loans And “Zombie Debt”

By Joe Wallace

Some borrowers who are preparing for an FHA loan application get surprises when they pull their credit reports–the existence of outdated debt information, inaccuracies, and mis-reported collection activity can plague credit reports in some cases. It takes time to undo these things and the borrower must work directly with the credit reporting agency to clear up the problem. And according to a recent headline at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) official site, there may be more of these issues in store for some potential FHA loan applicants. According to Were ordering JP Morgan Chase to refund $50 million and stop collecting on 528,000 accounts, JP Morgan Chase’s sale of credit card accounts to debt buyers resulted in inaccuracies that brought complaints of aggressive, improper, and inaccurate debt collection activity. | more...

When Is An FHA Loan Better Than A Conventional Loan?

July 14, 2015

FHA Refinance Loans: With Appraisal Or Without Appraisal?

By Joe Wallace

For borrowers examining their refinance loan options, it’s important to know what kind of refinance loan you want so you can plan ahead for expenses that might be related to the loan such as appraisals and up-front closing costs. Some borrowers assume that certain types of refinancing never require an appraisal, but this is not true–FHA loan rules for Streamline Refinancing, for example, say that no appraisal is required by the FHA but the lender may ask for one regardless. This surprises some applicants, and we get a fair number of inquiries asking if certain lender policies (including “appraisal required” streamline loans) are legitimate. “My understanding is that the FHA rules don’t require an appraisal for this refinance loan. My lender says I will need one for my streamline refinance | more...

July 13, 2015

FHA Home Loans: Brokers, Escrow, and Fees

By Joe Wallace

There are many expenses and services associated with an FHA home loan. Some borrowers experience confusion over some of these, not knowing which are optional, which are mandatory, and what to do about the expenses. Mandatory services include appraisal fees, flood zone determinations (where appropriate), and credit report fees. Optional services include home inspections (strongly recommended) and brokers. When it’s time to pay credit report fees, the borrower may not be charged more than the actual cost of these services; appraisal fees are required no matter what the outcome of the appraisal. These are two examples of FHA loan fees for services rendered–the service must be paid for no matter what the results of those services might be. With respect to brokers, some might assume that they need a broker | more...

July 11, 2015

FHA Loan Mortgage Interest Rate Trends: Moving Up

By Joe Wallace

FHA and conventional mortgage loan interest rates had a rocky week. On Friday rates moved higher for the second day in a row, which has erased the progress we had seen in the rates since investors started worrying about more significant stock market woes in China. Overseas economic developments can and do influence mortgage loan rates, but that influence can be fickle and subject to change. What looked dire a day or two ago (and gave some welcome downward movement in mortgage loan interest rates) is now suddenly no longer as much of a factor where FHA mortgage rates are concerned. 30-year fixed rate conventional mortgage loan interest rates had been flirting with the bottom of the four percent range, best execution. Now those rates are back up to a | more...

July 10, 2015

HUD Announces Final Rule On Fair Housing

By Joe Wallace

The FHA/HUD official site has announced a final rule that will promote and clarify fair housing requirements. A press release titled, “HUD Announces Final Rule On Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing” announces both new procedures and simplified fair housing rules. According to the press release, the new final rule will “equip communities that receive HUD funding with data and tools to help them meet long-standing fair housing obligations in their use of HUD funds. HUD will also provide additional guidance and technical assistance to facilitate local decision-making on fair housing priorities and goals for affordable housing and community development.” For many decades, the communities that receive funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development are required to observe fair housing rules so that all eligible applicants can receive help getting | more...

July 8, 2015

FHA Mortgage Rate Trends: Moving Lower

By Joe Wallace

Mortgage loan rates are as low as they’ve been in about a month; economic headlines from Greece and China are contributing to that move lower, but as some market watchers are quick to point out, it’s important to beware such influence since there’s just as much potential for rates to begin moving higher again if it turns out that these economic conditions–which are currently encouraging investors to behave in ways that currently favor lower rates–aren’t as dire as they seem to be now. We’re still seeing reports of 30-year fixed rate conventional loans at a best execution range between 4.0% and 4.125%, but more lenders are reporting best execution rates at 4.0% than in previous days. FHA mortgage loan rates are also still in their recent range between 3.75% and | more...

July 7, 2015

Mortgage Loan Interest Rate Trends: Decisively Lower

By Joe Wallace

We’ve been watching as mortgage loan interest rates overall have moved higher this summer; the upward trend brought 30-year fixed rate conventional mortgage loan rates back into the low four percent zone, best execution. The FHA mortgage loan interest rates followed suit, but only very late in the trend–we recently watched as FHA mortgage loan rates broke out of the previously long-held 3.75% comfort zone and into a range of best execution rates with 3.75% at the low end and 4.0% at the high end. Greek economic headlines have been responsible for at least some of the volatility in recent weeks, and in light of Sunday’s referendum voting No in regard to a set of changes proposed by its creditors in the Eurozone, the fact that Monday’s rate behavior took | more...